THANK YOU MEMBERS

In my position as Maintenance Chairman, I would like to acknowledge the following members for their maintenance work and support for the club during this past year.

Below you will see a term I call Field Work. Field work is, for me, the general term I use to cover a variety of things like, cleaning up around the wind socks, cleaning up around the trailer tie downs and the trailers themselves, adding to and then burning the burn pile, clean up at and near the creek, filling ground Hog holes, spraying round-up and a myriad of other chores that need to be done but frequently aren’t noticed.

And now My THANK YOU!

Peter Folwarczny, for all the wiring and light fixtures he has installed and fixed. He helps with the field work too. He keeps track of the flight stats, which may not sound like maintenance but to properly maintain the fleet we must know the hours that our various ships have on them. Petr is an accomplished pilot who is working on his badges, and who obviously enjoys flying sailplanes. Next year you’ll see him in his own 1-35.

Larry Kase, for performing annuals on some of the ships in the fleet (a responsibility he shares with Gary Palumbo), repair on the Pawnee and its strut test, repair of the Lark wing, and field work. Larry’s an accomplished pilot has his HP 18 and C150 at the field and has supported the club for years.

Tim Ponsot, for help with the Lark wing repair, snow plowing, and Stars and Stripes push to talk switch. Tim is always willing to help when he is at the field. He does these things in addition to instructing and flying on his own.

Pete Legenza, for work on the mule side window and fuel line, work on Pumpkin’s trailer, as well as general help at the field. Pete is a great fellow and Nick Legenza’s dad.

Greg Palmer, for helping to put together the storage unit for the winch and its solar ventilation fan, rigging the Lark, the 1-34, plumbing in the bathroom and field work. Another good pilot who has represented Sky Soaring well all around the country.

John Phelan, for fixing the old Hustler mower, plumbing in the bathroom, lending a fence post driver and consulting on other repairs. John is just one of those guys who obviously, as my dad used to say, enjoys soaring types and is willing to lend us a hand.

Gary Palumbo, for the following work on the Pawnee, the annual, strut test, broken tube repair including the fabric repair, annuals on some of the other ships in the fleet, and work and inspections on all the ships when they need it. He lends a hand when projects need it if he’s there. Gary flies both sailplanes and the tow plane. His help is always appreciated.

John Osborn, for work on the 1-34 repair, Stars and Stripes axel repair, Krosno canopy repair, hustler repair and general field work. John is always in the mix when we look into repairing any of our equipment and is frequently one of the first members consulted in what is or should be repaired.

Mark Reich for MOWING. Mark mows more than any other member that I know of and frequently on a Thursday or Friday so the field is ready for the weekend. He also helps with other work around the field.

Art Silverman, for help with mowing, field work, rigging and derigging. Art is always ready to help when he is out and has been put to work for it. He has his own PIK and also has given quite a few rides for the club.

Greg Tomczyk, for rigging and derigging help especially the Lark, hangar repairs and cleaning, help with Pumpkin and the 1-34. Greg is one of those guys who always seems to be around the field. And always willing to lend a hand.

Rich Walenda, for keeping our first aid kit up to date with current supplies, for offering CPR/AED training for FREE and field work. Rich is always willing to help no matter the chore.

Geoff Weck, for rigging and derigging especially with the Lark, and fabric work. It’s a real plus that we have an SSA director in our club and that he is willing to help. He is also an accomplished competition pilot and also tows for us.

Jim Hopkins, for mowing, field work, cleaning up our glider trailers and the grass around them, hangar clean up and organizing, Hustler wheel repair, vinyl and plywood floor in the winch storage shed and help with the 1-34 repair. Jim hasn’t flown as much as he might like, but he is out on many, (maybe most) Saturdays to help.

Andrzej Chicewicz, or just Andy to most of us. He is our resident golf cart mechanic. Without him our carts would either not be running or we’d have to hire some or a lot of the maintenance done out of house. Andy also helps where ever he can.

Dennis Burke, for spraying the threshold markers, helping with the 1-34, mowing and field work. Denny is out frequently and is always helping with whatever is in need of being done.

Steve Snyder, for the Pawnee repair, Stars and Stripes wheel bearings, Mid-Field wind sock replacement, and field work. With all the instructing Steve has been doing this year, it’s a wonder he has had as much time as he has to work on maintenance items.

Larry Moy for help with the 1-34 and helping in general.

Brendan Stewart for help with rigging and derigging the Lark and field work.

Don Grillo, for the 1-34, Pumpkin, the Lark, field work, the Pawnee annual, repair and maintenance, the Krosno canopy, 1-26 and grading, rigging and derigging our fleet. Don is not only a good pilot but is organized and willing to get his hands dirty in order to support our club.

Kevin Sheridan for help with rigging and derigging the Lark and for field work.

Karl Landl, for mowing around as many trailers as the heat of a hot summer day would allow him with the push mower.

John Dudlak for rigging and derigging the Lark and for field work.

And finally, John DeRosa, for the1-34, Pawnee repair and strut testing, battery wiring, plumbing in the bathroom, field work and rigging and derigging our fleet. John is a good pilot who tirelessly is working and helping to keep the club up and running.

I apologize to any of our members I have missed. The fault is entirely my own. Your contribution is appreciated.

So again as maintenance chairman I wish to extend my sincere THANK YOU. With<u>out</u> YOU I could not have done the work and our operation would have come to a complete halt.

Sincerely,  John Lincoln